Somebody's Nobody
by Ferris Ulf
Summary: One of the members of the group realizes he's always left in the shadows of the others. But if he's not one of them, then who IS he exactly? Oneshot


This is a bit of a different fic for me, I must admit. It's from--yes--Honda's POV. He's really a flat character, not really developing in the story. The others change emotionally and such. He's just kind of..._there_. Most of my fics are focused around...well...everyone else. I wanted to experiment and try a different approah. So I'm interested in what your responses will be.

Now I know there are a lot of people out there who are like: "Honda! Eeewwww!" If you think so please don't bother writing in to tell me. I know and I don't **care**. It's beside the point and totally irrelevent to me. I don't want Honda-haters _or_ Honda-lovers writing in just to tell me so. **I don't care. **

HOWEVER: if you hate or like him and include it in your review while also talking about the fic I'll be fine withit. Just wanted to clear that up ahead of time. Thank you.

I start all my ficcies off with poems I've written that relate to the story. I don't own Yugioh.

_**Darkened**_

_The Sun set o'er the emerald hills_

_Late in the hours of yesterday_

_Returning to her velvet sheets_

_Leaving behind red ember rays._

_The Night crooned softly on and on_

_Its ancient, drawn out tune_

_But alas! the morning never came_

_All alone hovers the moon._

_The molten amber didn't rise_

_Into the smoky charcoal sky._

_The dew on leaflets turn to tears_

_While the blinded songbirds cry._

_The creatures of the land and sea_

_Wander aimlessly, so lost._

_Taken for granted her warm delight_

_Not comprehending of the costs._

_Not heeding of our pleas and cries_

_The Sun—she slumbers on._

_We dream in dark of times before—_

_Unappreciated dawn. _

**Somebody's Nobody**

I sigh tiredly, adjusting the strap of my book bag over my shoulder. It's the strap on the right side; the other one's ripped almost completely through. My chilled fingers tighten the worn brown jacket, trying to seal the warmth inside.

The others were off to the dueling arena. **Again**. It's like an addiction. Yugi, Jou, Anzu, Mai…all of them. Yugi's the champ, no one can argue that. Jou's becoming stronger, still determined to defeat Seto Kaiba. Mai's been roaming the country, rising higher and higher in status. Anzu's still the faithful cheerleader attending all the duels. Ryou shows up on occasion as does Otogi who sometimes even joins in the competition. Then there's me. I don't duel. I don't compete. I'm the faceless nobody in the crowd.

They all have their own individual talents. Yugi's a duelist, as is Jou; third only Yugi and Kaiba. Anzu can dance and always manages to keep up the faith of the group whenever we think we're in over our heads. Ryou…he's the quiet kid with an evil spirit. Even that's _something_. Me? Who am I? Who exactly **is** Honda Hiroto?

I've repeatedly been called a wanna-be duelist who's really nothing but a pathetic cheerleader. Some might say I'm just the muscle of the group; no brains. Well…I have a motorbike…But then, so does that psycho Marik. I tried to get Mokuba's soulless body out of Pegasus' dungeons…but would have failed had not Ryou's yami come to the "rescue". I threw the Millennium Ring away so Ryou would be free of the evil spirit once and for all…but it came back anyway.

I shake my head, sighing heavily and sinking down on the curb. Dead leaves and cigarette butts are strewn about the gutters, tossed aside carelessly. Once deemed important to someone or something, but no more.

Who am I? What sets me apart from any other guy here in Domino—or the rest of the world for that matter? I've got flaws, sure. Everybody's got 'em. But there has to be more to me than physical strength, right?

I'm determined…when food's involved. Loyal…most of the time. Honest? Sorta.

I groan in frustration, burying my face in my hands as I sit here on the street side. Why does this have to be so damn confusing? Why do my friends even like me? I don't duel like the rest of them; only yelling words of encouragement…an BS-ing the refs on occasion. Good god I'm a _nobody_!

"Honda man?"

I jolt, looking up to find Jou standing in front of me, hands in his jean pockets. Brown eyes study me curiously as he stares at me, waiting for some type of acknowledgment.

"Jou! What…why aren't you at the dueling arena?" I ask in surprise, coming out of my internal rantings.

He shrugs. "I dunno. It didn't feel right."

I quirk an eyebrow, waiting to speak until after a blue minivan zooms by. "What didn't feel right?"

"The whole atmosphere. Was all great. Fan's cheering from the sidelines; opponent's followers tryin' to faze me; decks shuffled an' ready. Then it happened," he states, pausing.

"What?" I ask.

"Well, Yug yelled, '_Go for it, Jou_!' and I looked over to give 'im thumbs up when I noticed…" He halts again, almost uncomfortably.

"What, man?" I ask, standing.

He looks me straight in the eyes. I don't believe I'll ever forget it. His stare is intense…hurt…lost…

"You weren't there."

I feel myself bristle. Here comes the crap I was just talking…er…thinking about.

"You're a great duelist whether or not I'm there, Jou," I sigh, letting my vision wander into some light blue abyss behind my eyes. It's kinda weird actually…

"Yeah…but…" he takes a deep breath. "But you weren't there."

"But I don't need to be," I growl, getting irritated now.

"But you weren't…"

"Listen man, I'm not a duelist. Heck, I can't do strategy or think up inspiring speeches. I just stand there watching. You don't need me," I hiss, that last sentence holding more meaning than ever before.

He blinks in astonishment. Oh _now_ I've done it. He sees it too now; that he really doesn't need me. My heart wrenches in my chest but I refuse to show it. I won't fall to my knees and beg him to forget what I just said. Instead, I turn and begin to walk away.

"Honda…"

"Jou, you're fine on your own. You duel well whether or not I'm there. I'm a nobody to those people," I state firmly, though I stop.

"But…I want you to be…" he states timidly.

I whip around, eyes wide in disbelief. _What_ did he say? His brown eyes are serious now.

"Sure Yug and Anzu and everyone else are there…but…s'always been you an' me, you know? Through our time as gangsters; Duelist Kingdom; taking care of my sister during Battle City…We've always stuck together no matter what. Say what you want. You're **somebody** to **me** an' I want you to be there."

I can't find any words, mind hazy. Is this an illusion? A dream? God, I sure hope not. I realize suddenly he's smiling warmly at me, nervously waiting for a reply.

"I…but…" I stutter unable to speak a full sentence.

"You thought I wouldn't notice, didn't you? When are you gonna learn?" he chuckles draping an arm around my shoulder and tugging me off down the road.

I shrug helplessly. He shakes his head, sandy blonde hair swishing back and forth like tall golden grass blowing in the wind.

"You're crazy, man. Y'know that? What the hell were you thinking? '_I'm a nobody_.' Crazy. Where'd you get an idea like that?" he questions.

I sigh. "I don't know. Everyone else seems to have a purpose in life…"

"Waddaya mean you haven't got a purpose?" he exclaims, arm around me tightening. "You're what holds me together; keeps me sane—or perhaps _insane_," he smirks.

I laugh at this as we head off—away from the dueling arena. He makes a joke and we both burst out laughing earning strange looks from other people as we pass by. I'm not even sure where we're going but it doesn't really matter. I was sort of right. I am a nobody to some but important to someone else. _Jou_. Perhaps it's not what I am to myself or complete strangers. It's what I am to the people I care about and what they are to me. He wants me around; needs me to be there for him. And I will be. A grin spreads across my face as I turn to find him beaming. We head off down the road together, arms wrapped around one another. Jou and me. A duelist and his fan. Two teens close like brothers. A somebody and his nobody.

* * *

Woot for Honda and Jou! (huggles) So, I'm interested to hear...er...read what you think of it. I know it's a bit different than my other ficcies (besides the fact that it's rated PG...which is amazing in inself!)

A lot of Honda's reflections in this fic actually have a lot to do with my own. So I sort of molded myself into his character. It came out very interesting for me. Talk about deep emotional dramas. Yeesh. -.-;

Anyhoo, REVIEW! (waves candy in front of readers' faces)


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